E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSSView more videos at: http://nbcconnecticut.com.
A Connecticut man was arrested Thursday afternoon when police found drugs, guns and cash in his home after responding to a routine medical call.
When officers arrived at 4 McDonald Avenue in Cromwell, they discovered Michael Marotta, 28, was in possession of prescription medication that did not belong to him.
After obtaining a search warrant, authorities also found $34,000-worth of cocaine, $2,385 in cash, three handguns, three shotguns, two rifles, a Taser and thousands of rounds of ammunition, according to police.
Read more news on NBCConnecticut.com
Authorities also found supplies used for the manufacturing, packaging and transportation of narcotics, according to police.
"It's really disturbing. I mean, you don't know who lives near you," said one neighbor who asked not to be identified.
Police arrested Marotta and charged him with operating a drug factory, illegal possession, possession with intent to sell, possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of marijuana.
He was arraigned on the charges Friday in Middletown Superior Court, according to police.
Leave a Comment:
When ATF meets DEA
Anyone else notice the Daisy model 77 pellet gun 2nd from the left? That thing is sooooo SCARY looking.
Then above the AR style rifle is a dressed up Rugar 10-22 and in the upper left of the pic are 2 Eaton brand 26 round banana clips for it
Well, they couldn't get him for the guns, the ammo which is legal. Darn if his girlfriend had left her medication at his place, then he is gonna get busted for that, unless his taxpayer paid lawyer ends up getting that dropped. My goodness, I had better no have more cash in my home then under a hundred or so. Someone might think I am up to no good.
In essence, this really is just about the drugs.But they had to throw in the cash, guns and ammo.For that will always stir up the neighbors and make people feel much more scared, paranoid, willing to give up their second amendment right and justify throwing out any reasoning.Since their emotions are kicking into high gear. We all know what happens to any level headed thinking when that happens, right?
Stir up the public over any little incidents possible, blown up as usual and people will feel like the whole damn nation is coming apart at the seams. After all, who is going to be interested in some simple case about a simple drug bust?But throw in lots of guns, thousands of ammo, you have the potential of a gun nut being a mass murderer next door. Why, you might have one next door to you even as you read this! BAN ALL GUNS FOLKS-SAVE AMERICA FROM HERSELF! Yeah,criminals just can't wait for that day.
"Stir up the public"? That's a bad thing, in this case? When your neighbor has cocaine, an unusual amount of cash on hand, and guns and ammo to protect himself from such unsavory characters that may visit... you don't think it's worth making that front-page news and letting everyone know what's up?!?
All these things together point towards having a neighbor who is involved with people that are not exactly upstanding citizens and who you don't want visiting your neighborhood. There is the VERY good chance of these people coming after for what he's got (if only for the money), and if they can't rob him and get past his defenses, then guess who is next on the list? The unaware neighbors!
Even a neighbor who is armed and with a security system on their house is not psychic, nor are they aware of what the unwanted intruders are capable of. Attacks happen at random and not every gun owner has sharp reflexes and a ready weapon, ready to wake up from a solid sleep and defend themselves in an instant, 24/7. This, at least, is a heads-up.
Dave, beat me to it. Must not have had room in the picture for the sling shot. StandUpJerkOff-He was a drug dealer.
No KIDDING he was a drug dealer!
And that's my argument: are you saying the neighborhood shouldn't be made aware of this?
Put it front page news. Frighten a few people. Whatever. Get 'em a bit paranoid, because the collection of items that man had in his house is NOT the normal contents of an American house, and the people associated with those items are NOT the kind of people that law-abiding neighbors should be able to guard against.
Gee, I wonder if he was on the gun owners list available to the public...LOL...LOL...Sheesh.
Not normal? I have to move stuff just like it to eat a bowl of cereal. Pass the AK please.
I have to laugh when some stupid reporter has to try and hype it up about "THOUSANDS OF ROUNDS OF AMMUNITION". I personally have Hundreds of thousands of rounds of ammo but it is mostly .22 cal. They sell it in a box of 550 per box and I have about 50-60 boxes because I, my wife and son love to shoot targets with .22 rifles and pistols. I bought some of the ammo about ten years ago and inherited about 20 boxes from my father when he passed away a couple years back.
I'l bet he has a thirty round for the Handi. Even he kept the nasty thing locked.
Why is this national news? Similar busts are made every day somewhere in the USA.
Thank goodness they got the drugs off of the market.
Guns are not a problem in the hands of Non violents and Non Criminals.
" unless his taxpayer paid lawyer ends up getting that dropped."
first: What makes you think he has a "taxpayers paid lawyer" and in case you didn't know it everyone that can't afford a lawyer is entitled to one anyways.
second: If the governemt doesn't steal all his money I bet he can afford his own.
And what does his legally owned guns have to do with anything?
"Guns are not a problem in the hands of Non violents and Non Criminals."
Hello? McFly is that you?
What was the medical problem and if he called paramedics why did the cops come. This is bad reporting. They just want to talk about the guns. Where's a picture of the drugs?
gm Windy
Actually, they will get him for the guns, even if they are all legal and even if he has permits for them. If someone has drugs in felony amounts (for which $34k worth would qualify) and also has firearms, it is standard procedure in law enforcement to charge them with something like "the use of firearms in commission of a felony."
And to add to Denver Bill. They seized the cash because he made it off selling drugs unless he can prove otherwise.
Correct. He's presumed guilty unless he can prove himself innocent.
Why stop with the cash? Maybe they'll seize his house unless he can prove it didn't come from the drug money.
NevadaJ, They can take the house if he ownes it. because he was selling drugs out of it and it was used in the commision of a felony. It's been done alot of times. Not to mention the IRS getting him for taxes. It's their world he got into. It's not right but they now pull all the strings.
As long as they can keep their guns and ammo while in jail as is their 2nd amendment right.
and I hope they pull the strings real tight. Take his house, sic the IRS on him, and throw him prison for a long time. His neighbors ought to just burn down the house. I really hate druggies (as u may have surmised)
Some Connecticut lawmakers are introducing legislation to make "legal gunowner lists" come under FOIA requests...Make them Public Records.....
Tell me.....would this house have a RED DOT on the Interactive Map .....NOPE.....
Just any law abiding citizens would have their names and addresses published.....
Bad idea Connecticut.....We all know you went through a terrible event....
But the GUN FREE SCHOOL ZONE ACT(1990) is a colossal Failure :
"Gun group says active killer events quadrupled after Gun Free School Zones Act"
http://www.examiner.com/article/gun-group-says-active-killer-events-quadrupled-after-gun-free-school-zones-act
The initial purchase of a the overwhelming majority of guns in our country is a legal buy. Millions of those guns find their way into the hands of criminals and other people who should not have guns. How does that happen? I think it is the fault of the laws involving transfer of gun ownership AND the fault of those initial buyers of the guns.
davefromdanapointca
Totally agree. I have thousands too, and most of it is .22 for one of my rifles because it's cheap as hell (compared to other rounds) and it comes in large quantities. I don't think you can buy a box of less than 50 rounds. Now if the guy had thousands of shotgun shells I would have been impressed. At around $10 for 5 shells, that would be insanely expensive.
@Nevada - Of course they'll sieze his house. ANYTHING used in the pursuit of a criminal enterprise is subject to seizure. After all, where he's going he won't need a house.
there should be a law making it illegal for dope pushers and criminals to have firearms, they could shoot someone .(federal and State law, possession of a gun and over a certain amount of illegal drugs, gets you a additional 10-15 years vacation at one of the many max security prisons .)
Since when is $2500 cash laying around considered "an unusual amount of cash"? Maybe petty cash, certainly not for keeping around the house though.
$34k worth of cocaine is disconcerting, but knowing my fellow LEO's that would be "high" retail, not market price. Probably closer to $3.4k value, if it is even his. I'll bet Obama had more in his presence during his college years and most assuredly around him during his community activist days.
The guns, big deal, my fifteen year old has a better assortment. There is nothing there. As far as the ammo goes, notice he must load his own by the empty brass and powder scale...sure that some over zealous AD will somehow fabricate those into drug manufacturing equipment.
Personally, can not stand the idea of drugs, so do not have an understanding as to why there is a market for them.
@1stlttightwad: Gee, I wonder if he was on the gun owners list available to the public...LOL...LOL...Sheesh.
That was in New York. In Connecticut we don't have county government, so any such list would have to come from the state, and even they're not that crazy.
let me get this straight. you call because you have a medical problem, and the police shows up and searches your house? wow talk about police state
Mike
If you dig a bit more you will see when they arrived the illegal drugs were in plain view.
http://www.middletownpress.com/articles/2013/01/05/news/doc50e754769967b339273279.txt?viewmode=2
The guy was just an idiot.
They charged him with possession, manufacturing, possession, possession, possession, and possession.
Geezzzz, how many times can they charge you for the same thing?
I notice they didn't say the weight of the drugs.
The always like to triple the street value for the media.
He probably had 1/2 pound. 8 ounces X 28 grams =448 Grams then they figure getting maximum value for each gram, as if no personal was used, and then add 20% for the hell of it.
They do the same thing on weed busts. say they get 60 plants with a street value of 2 million bucks.
224 grams. oppps
224 gms of coke is A LOT of coke as a personal stash...but not all that much as a dealer.
"224 gms of coke is A LOT of coke as a personal stash...but not all that much as a dealer."
That would depend on what level the dealer was. It sounds to me like he had a key or more. But the law could be doing the old street value deal to make it sound like a much bigger bust. Its good to make it look like the war on drugs is working.....oh wait.
"Geezzzz, how many times can they charge you for the same thing?"
Yeah they can really pile on the charges for even jay walking if they want.
In my state if you get busted with pills its a charge for Each one you have.
Hey, it's the police, they do it how they want. Once they have your cocaine and guns you can't argue. While you sit in jail waiting on your hearing date you read the paper and see your charges. So do your buddies in lock up. You can bet this guy will have a ton of clients when he gets out.
He may find that there are some cops that want some coke too.
Hey, $34k worth of blow is nothing to sniff at.
@Anaonamoose You must have been there.
Let's all rush to support the drug dealer with the guns. Keep whining about go after the criminal with the guns. then when they do, some still whine. Maybe they should just go after them all because gun owners have proven themselves incapable of acting in a responsible manner. Just like the Ct. shooter.
Look at it like this, you kill a family of 4 you get 4 murder charges.
All are different crimes, same in his case each possession charge was a different crime.
Pretty simple really.
R. Scalzo
Riiiight. Because all of us gun owners sit behind piles of coke that reach the ceiling and stacks of $100 bills while screwing dozens of hookers. I think you need to stop watching Scarface over and over.
Scalzo, Scalzo, Scalzo.
The CT shooter wasn't a gunowner. Killed his mama and took hers. Geez.
I dont care how much drugs he had, he is a meance to society and needs locked up for a long long time
224 g = 8 oz Wow that really isn't a lot compared to other goods.
Manufacturing????????
Was he cooking up crack cocain?
I'm so old I remember when Coke was for snorting.
"Was he cooking up crack cocaine?"
Not sure but I think just having what it takes to package it up can bring a manufacturing charge.
Manufacturing charges can be brought against you if you have certain items some of which aren't even related to the drugs. The money is one of the worst things to be busted with in your possession. The cops ALWAYS assume you made it selling the substance you get caught with even if you work on Wall Street.
I'll bet the guy had all those guns because he was getting PARANOID doing ALL that cocaine! At least that's what people tell me happens when you snort that snuff ;)
Me too, but even then Coke was often cut with other additives. Today is is even worse as some will add cheap meth to the Coke then claim it is 100% Coke.
All sorts of ways to maximize your profits which might just piss a few folks off - so the guns come into play. Make sure when you're selling they can see the scary weapons just enough to know you aren't an easy target.
Sadly, $34K worth of coke ain't what it used to be...
Cue the gun grabbers!
Interesting how negative stories involving guns always get posted on NBCNEWS.com but never stories about law abiding citizens defending themselves and their families. Like this one, where a woman shot a burglar when he broke into her home where she was with her two children.
www.wsbtv.com/news/news/local/woman-hiding-kids-shoots-intruder/nTm7s/
She ran out of bullets, why didn't she reload?
She hit him 5 out of 6 times, thats darn good for someone stressing about an intruder in their home.
Get some hollow point bullets for this woman, and perhaps a 357.
Two thumbs up! Way to go mom.
Everybody just calm down, nobody's going to take your guns away. Of course the gun manufacturers want you to believe that the gun confiscation squad is just around the corner. Does anybody have an idea how long it would take to confiscate 300,000,000 guns? The way we enforce laws in this country, I'm thinking about 200 to 300 years. If...it all went smoothly. But that ain't gonna happen! Anyway, it would be like trying to drain your bathtub with the water running full blast. So just relax, there are enough guns floating around this country to arm every bad guy and every good guy, every child, toddler, teacher and day care worker, gang member, carjacker, home invader, home owner, motorist, minister, politician, every single human being and probably animals with guns taped to their paws...many, many times over. So relax, your guns are safe. You're not... but they are.
So you support the drug dealer?
Hell no! I grow my own. So does my gunsmith.
I support the mother with children in Georgia. Must say though that she was apparently under-gunned. Shot the intruder 5 times and he lived to drive away? She needs more "knock down" power!
I hate the grip added to the Mossberg 12 gauge. I think that would have an awkward feel.
I had the 500 model with pistol grip, not the vertical fore end. I liked it at first then realized when chasing down coons and skunks across the yard in my pajamas (how they got in my pajamas I'll never know) I always shot high-down the road it went. Just got the Savage/Stevens 350. Sweet!
@stonepipe,
Agreed. A shotgun with a forehand grip looks mean and evil, but it's really awkward when you are trying to hit someone in pajamas on the fly.
I have a Mossberg 500 AT I bought in 1974, filled the freezer more than once. Been a good shotgun and use it now.
:)! Have a great weekend, db2.
@DB2 -
Trying to hit someone in pajamas in the fly ? That just sounds so wrong man............
Just caused me to spit my coffee all over my keyboard....LOL
Good work here, people. Very funny!
Before they lock this guy in a hole you've got to remember Barack did both Coke and Crack in Chicago growing up.
Weed too.
And W did too. What's your point?
And I did, too.
Well, no crack, but plenty of powder.
Those were the good old days.
Most of that Crack was courtesy of the Reagan/Bush presidency. The Iran Contra affair was a great way to not only sell arms to the enemy (Iran) but also to bring and sell drugs to Americans. Nothing like using CIA planes to smuggle Cocaine into the USA.
W didn't do crack.
Bo did.
Obama didn't use Crack.
He admitted to Marijuana, Booze, and "blow" aka Cocaine. That is not crack.
Surprising considering how much Crack usage was up at that time thanks to Reagan and Bush.
Notice that all of the charges are drug related, but the picture with the article prominently features the guns. Looks like a couple of air guns and some hunting equipment to me.....BUT there was an AR in the bunch, so we need a good pic of it, (no mention of if it was legally purchased)...no mention that it was used in any crime...Should this persons kitchen cabinet be raided and pictures of their knives be splashed up there?
Was he black or just into video games?
Yeah, but he didn't own a hoodie, so it's cool.
Did he have trigger locks on the guns? I certainly hope so, for the safety of the community.
Good one!
Just another story along with more eye candy to fit their anti-gun agenda. Gotta love the BB gun though. I had one just like it once, and let me tell you, it was DEADLY!!!! At least if you were a Blackbird. Oh, was that a racist comment???
Ha Ha Ha Larry @ the BB gun........careful there, you might put your eye out!
Dontcha just love it when the media talks about those nasty ole black rifles etc., etc., they show that they don't know what the He## they are talking about.
A gun is a gun. It is used to kill something.
Dude the butts are great for cracking Walnuts also!
and this can be a fun party game if you keep the safety off.
This was worthy of national news coverage? Big deal. $34,ooo worth of coke, thats peanuts. As far as the guns every drug dealer has them. And once assault weapons are illegal they will just be bought through the blackmarket.
Yawnnnnn.
NBC News, Are you still paranoid?????? Paranoia will destroy ya!
Wow, Car, you really love to see your words appear online, huh?
Well, listen up! It takes a very special kind of idiot to voluntarily keep coming back to a site you hate so much when all you have to do is... are you ready for this?... not come here anymore!
Write it down. Learn it. Live it.
When alcohol,drugs,firearms are legal they can be regulated.Distributed & controlled & serialized Once they are illegal, the gloves come off and we are at the mercy of the blackmarket,no control whatsoever.No way of knowing where they came from and how they were made.Ever notice bar codes on alcohol or precription drug containers, or serial numbers on a firearm.
I can see them taking the drugs but its not illegal to have a few guns and some cash in your home.
He will probably get them back.
Not if he's convicted of felony drug charges he won't!
BP Not a chance even if he's not convicted. It'll cost more money in lawyers fees then it would to buy new ones.
In that quiet neighborhood?, gee I thought those things only happened in the "hood"....
The people who live in those quiet neighborhoods would want you to think so . But where do all the mass shootings occur? Quiet areas.
Legalize drugs and rake in profits. Result, is less losers all the way around. Ta da
The NRA "Bringing drug dealers and Republcians together for over 100 years."
The BATF, and the Brady Bunch, .....Attempting to disarm law abiding American citizens and eliminate the 2nd Amendment since their inception.
And every law abiding American has at least $34K in cocaine in their homes.........and not to worry, they'll be able to keep their guns and ammo all through and while in jail.
There are "crazy nuts" living next to you, riding in the next vehicle, sitting next to you in cafe.... It's the way of this crazy world....
Of course, the ONLY things they actually found that were illegal were the drugs. All the guns are legal length and capacity for the location.
Yep. But never pass on an opportunity to raise the rabble through paranoic reporting.
It is Pavlovian, simple - show (or mention) guns, create bed-wetting fear!
Kinda cool, really.
Let's see, it's in Connecticut so NBC can camp on Sandy Hook and there is an AR, more than Two Bullets so the Guy isn't your average Barney Fife Type. He doesn't really have anything out of the Norm, Home Defense and Sporting Guns. The problem comes with the DumbAss dealing Drugs, glad he was caught.
Bad Bob I hate to break it to You, but it's more like Drug Dealers and Liberal Democrats, ask OBama he has experience with that.
It was widely known that Bush used coke before his election. he was known for ducking the Guard drug testing. At least he was smart enough to clean up his act.
Just think if there were NO gun laws or regulations,everyone in America would be a legal gun owner.
Having no gun laws or regulations would put the country exactly in compliance with the Constitution. What part of "SHALL NOT BE ADRIDGED" is unclear?